My son is with his grandparents today.
My mom offered to keep him through his nap. I wasn't sure because I was worried about how long he would sleep at her house, but I decided to just go with it.
It turns out that the people that live above me (we live in a condo) are having their bathroom floor re-tiled today, which has involved non-stop banging. At home would have been the worst place we could take a nap today.
Yet another example of how I don't always know best, but that He does.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Rest
"Come to Me, all you who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
I need to rest in order to be renewed and rejuvenated so that I can live the life that God wants me to live.
This verse is one that I go to often, especially after a long week. Now was my week any longer than anyone else's? Of course not. Did I have to deal with issues greater than some? Sure, but I am sure the things I had to deal with paled in comparison to what others had to deal with this week.
I have to live my own life. No one else can live my life for me. My blessings and challenges are not meant to be compared to others.
Because someone is dealing with something much more difficult than what I am dealing with, does not make what I am dealing with inconsequential. In the same regard, just because someone seems to have the "perfect life" doesn't mean their life is actually perfect.
How wonderful it is to know that I can go to Him at any time and He knows exactly where I am coming from. It is in Him that I can truly rest in a way unlike any other and that rest is essential to being able to live the life that He put me on this earth to live.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
What was Lost, Now is Found
I make sure each of my sons socks has a match before I put them in the washer. This allows me the certainty that I will have matches at the other end of the laundry cycle.
Around the start of the year I was doing the pre-load sock matching and came across a sock that I couldn't find a match for. I hunted a good bit for the sock, but to no avail.
I placed the un-matched dirty sock on the shelf by the washer. I didn't want to wash the one sock, but I wanted to have it waiting by the washer when I found its match.
Each time I have gone to do the laundry I have seen that one sock and wondered where the match could be. At times I have thought about just getting rid of sock. It is just a sock and it isn't like this is his only pair, but I just haven't been able to do it because I felt sure that I would find the match at some point.
I found the sock tonight in a completely unexpected place. The sock now has its mate and I got a great lesson in having faith.
Around the start of the year I was doing the pre-load sock matching and came across a sock that I couldn't find a match for. I hunted a good bit for the sock, but to no avail.
I placed the un-matched dirty sock on the shelf by the washer. I didn't want to wash the one sock, but I wanted to have it waiting by the washer when I found its match.
Each time I have gone to do the laundry I have seen that one sock and wondered where the match could be. At times I have thought about just getting rid of sock. It is just a sock and it isn't like this is his only pair, but I just haven't been able to do it because I felt sure that I would find the match at some point.
I found the sock tonight in a completely unexpected place. The sock now has its mate and I got a great lesson in having faith.
Always There
Thankfully I don't have, what I would consider, major sleep issues. I can easily go to sleep at night and usually feel refreshed in the morning. My biggest problem is that I relatively regularly wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time going back to sleep.
It is during the middle of the night that my biggest concerns and fears rear their ugly heads. It is in the middle of the night that I wonder how I am going to deal with all the issues--both big and small--that are going on in my life. It is during the middle of the night that things seem insurmountable.
The wonderful thing about God is that He is always there. He is there first thing in the morning. He is there late at night. He is there in the middle of the night. He is the one person you can really always call without worrying about interfering with anything else He has going on.
When I do wake up in the middle of the night I do my best to continue to turn all my worries and concerns over to God and pray for Him to help me go back to sleep.
Eventually I do go back to sleep and when I wake up in the morning I have a much better perspective on everything. I thank God for that, because I know that my new-found perspective is due to Him.
God is always at work in my life, even in the middle of the night.
It is during the middle of the night that my biggest concerns and fears rear their ugly heads. It is in the middle of the night that I wonder how I am going to deal with all the issues--both big and small--that are going on in my life. It is during the middle of the night that things seem insurmountable.
The wonderful thing about God is that He is always there. He is there first thing in the morning. He is there late at night. He is there in the middle of the night. He is the one person you can really always call without worrying about interfering with anything else He has going on.
When I do wake up in the middle of the night I do my best to continue to turn all my worries and concerns over to God and pray for Him to help me go back to sleep.
Eventually I do go back to sleep and when I wake up in the morning I have a much better perspective on everything. I thank God for that, because I know that my new-found perspective is due to Him.
God is always at work in my life, even in the middle of the night.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Lessons from the Playground
I took my son to the playground this afternoon. The playground is perfect for my 16 month old. It is fenced in and doesn't have any equipment that is too advanced for him. He loves to run around and explore.
This afternoon he found the broken handle from the teeter-totter. He first tried to fix the teeter-totter, but when he realized that he couldn't easily fix it, he decided that he wanted to eat the handle instead. I told him that he was not allowed to eat the handle. He continued trying to eat the handle. At that point, I took the handle from him and removed it from the playground.
My son had a meltdown. It was a major, blood-curdling screaming meltdown. He was no longer interested in anything else at the playground, which was when I decided it was time for us to head home. We will return to the playground another day.
How many times have I let God know in no uncertain terms what I want? How many times have I had some type of meltdown when I haven't gotten what I wanted in life? Too many to count, I am embarrassed to say.
God knows exactly what is best for me and if I listen to him, I will get the better deal. Unfortunately because of my stubbornness, most times I have to learn the hard way. I fight against God and pitch a fit because I am not getting what I want in life. I need to remember that I don't know best. My Father is watching out for me and will always lead me down the right path. It is up to me to listen.
God, I think I know the best path for my life, but You have much greater things in mind. When things don't go my way, help me remember that Your way is the way I need to follow.
This afternoon he found the broken handle from the teeter-totter. He first tried to fix the teeter-totter, but when he realized that he couldn't easily fix it, he decided that he wanted to eat the handle instead. I told him that he was not allowed to eat the handle. He continued trying to eat the handle. At that point, I took the handle from him and removed it from the playground.
My son had a meltdown. It was a major, blood-curdling screaming meltdown. He was no longer interested in anything else at the playground, which was when I decided it was time for us to head home. We will return to the playground another day.
How many times have I let God know in no uncertain terms what I want? How many times have I had some type of meltdown when I haven't gotten what I wanted in life? Too many to count, I am embarrassed to say.
God knows exactly what is best for me and if I listen to him, I will get the better deal. Unfortunately because of my stubbornness, most times I have to learn the hard way. I fight against God and pitch a fit because I am not getting what I want in life. I need to remember that I don't know best. My Father is watching out for me and will always lead me down the right path. It is up to me to listen.
God, I think I know the best path for my life, but You have much greater things in mind. When things don't go my way, help me remember that Your way is the way I need to follow.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Importance of Conscious Living
At the end of a weekend away I began packing the car in preparation for the trip home. I took one load outside and realized that I the trunk had not opened even though I had pressed the trunk release button from inside the house.
I left the load by the car and went back in to retrieve my keys. While I was there I picked up another load and headed back to the car.
I put the second load by the trunk and pressed the trunk release button. I loaded both the first and second load into the trunk and went to shut the trunk. Something stopped me. I made the deliberate decision to make sure I had my keys in my hand before I closed the trunk.
The keys weren't in my hand. The keys weren't in my pocket. I checked the ground around the car--no keys. Again, I started to close the trunk, but something stopped me.
I left the trunk open and headed back into the house to see if I had left the keys there. About halfway to the house, I turned around and headed back to the car. I looked in the trunk. Still no keys. I couldn't imagine where they could be, but I knew I needed those keys in my hand before I closed that trunk.
At the top of one of the bags that had been loaded in the trunk laid my keys. I picked up the keys and all I could say was thank you time and time again. I didn't want to even think about what the chain of events would have been had I closed that trunk before I had those keys in my hand.
It wasn't something that stopped me; it was Someone. God was reminding me to always be in the moment and to live consciously.
God, it is easy to be preoccupied and be thinking of other things--in the past, in the future, people and places far away in time or distance. Thank you for reminding me to consciously live in the moment.
I left the load by the car and went back in to retrieve my keys. While I was there I picked up another load and headed back to the car.
I put the second load by the trunk and pressed the trunk release button. I loaded both the first and second load into the trunk and went to shut the trunk. Something stopped me. I made the deliberate decision to make sure I had my keys in my hand before I closed the trunk.
The keys weren't in my hand. The keys weren't in my pocket. I checked the ground around the car--no keys. Again, I started to close the trunk, but something stopped me.
I left the trunk open and headed back into the house to see if I had left the keys there. About halfway to the house, I turned around and headed back to the car. I looked in the trunk. Still no keys. I couldn't imagine where they could be, but I knew I needed those keys in my hand before I closed that trunk.
At the top of one of the bags that had been loaded in the trunk laid my keys. I picked up the keys and all I could say was thank you time and time again. I didn't want to even think about what the chain of events would have been had I closed that trunk before I had those keys in my hand.
It wasn't something that stopped me; it was Someone. God was reminding me to always be in the moment and to live consciously.
God, it is easy to be preoccupied and be thinking of other things--in the past, in the future, people and places far away in time or distance. Thank you for reminding me to consciously live in the moment.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
God Moments
I realized today how many times a day I say, "Thank, God" and really mean it. It is amazing to me how I see God work in my life everyday. I am going to start to document these moments as much as I can. It is all about having a constant conversation with God, always finding the silver lining, and being aware of how He is at work in your life.
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